ft^P             ^ggH»tS«*! 

THE  BIBLE  IN  OUR  DAY. 

BY 

W.  P.  BONE, 

Professor  of  New  Testament  Interpretation  in  Cumber- 
land University,  Lebanon,  Tenn. 

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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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Section 


THE  BIBLE  IN  OUR  DAY. 


BY 


W.  P.  BONE, 


Pkoftessor  of  New  Testament  Interpretation  is  Cl-mjif.r* 
land  university,  lebanon,  tenn. 


NASHVILLE,  TENN.  : 

Cr.MBKRi.ANn  Presbyterian  Publishing  Hqttsk. 

1899. 


THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 

This  is  a  question  which  has  long  been  a  subject  of 
discussion  among  Rationalists,  Roman  Catholics,  and 
Protestants.  It  is  an  oft-recurring  question,  arising 
in  a  thousand  different  forms,  and  having  much  to  do 
with  every-day  life  as  well  as  doctrinal  opinion. 

The  Roman  Catholic  takes  a  position  which  practi- 
cally makes  the  authority  of  the  Church  greater  than 
that  of  the  Bible. 

The  Rationalist  denies  either  that  a  supernatural  rev- 
elation has  been  made,  or  that  it  has  any  binding  au- 
thority, granting  that  one  has  been  made. 

The  liberal  Protestant  view  is  that  which  allows  more 
or  less  authority  to  the  Scriptures — authority  here  and 
there,  in  this  place  or  the  other,  wherever  the  reader 
may  choose  to  recognize  it. 

Lastly,  there  is  the  regular  Protestant  view,  which 
holds  that  the  Bible  is  really  and  truly  the  word  of  God, 
and  that  its  authority  is  final. 

The  last  view  is  the  one  to  be  maintained,  and  for 
two  reasons: 

1.  The  first  of  these  is  tlu  fad  that  the  Bible  contains 
a  supernatural  rerelrrtion. 


4  The  Bible  in  Our  Day. 

Man  instinctively  feels  that  God  is  near  him,  and 
over  him,  and  has  to  do  with  him.  He  feels  that  he 
needs  a  revelation,  and  that  God  is  good  enough  and 
powerful  enough  to  grant  him  one — a  thing  which 
the  greatest  philosophers  have  ever  been  unahle  to 
do. 

xigain,  if  we  do  not  accept  the  Holy  Scriptures  as 
containing  a  revelation,  how  can  we  account  for  the 
existence  of  these  hooks?  They  are  either  genuine  and 
authentic,  or  they  are  forgeries.  If  the  latter,  then 
why  docs  not  some  man  rise  up  wise  enough  and  strong 
enough  to  establish  their  spuriousness?  All  elf  oris  in 
this  direction  so  far  have  failed. 

We  next  inquire  as  to  the  credibility  of  the  writers, 
and  we  find  that  the  lives  they  lived,  the  reputation 
which  they  bore,  the  persecutions  which  they  endured, 
the  accuracy  of  their  statements,  and  their  agreement 
with  one  another — all  strengthen  the  view  that  their 
testimony  is  true. 

Another  link  in  this  chain  of  evidence  may  be  added 
when  we  consider  the  contents  of  the  Bible — their  ele- 
vated character,  their  dignified  tone  of  utterance,  their 
consistency  of  detail,  their  unity  of  purpose,  their  re- 
markable sanity,  their  practical  bearing,  their  silent 
majesty,  and  indescribable  sublimity.  This  is  all  the 
more  remarkable  when  we  remember  that  the  sixty- 
six  books  were  written  by  forty  or  fifty  differeni  authors 


The  Bible  in  Ottb  Day.  5 

— prophets,  priests,  kings,  a  lax  gatherer,  a  physician, 
a  shepherd,  a  tent  maker,  a  fisherman — written  at  in- 
tervals through  a  period  of  fifteen  hundred  years,  all 
the  books  together  constituting  an  organic  whole,  bear- 
in  g  unmistakable  evidence  of  being  the  product  of  one 
luind,  and  all  being  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  needs 
and  the  longings  of  the  human  soul.  Without  the 
ISible  what  did  the  Egyptians,  or  the  Persians,  or  the 
Assyrians,  or  the  Greeks,  or  the  Romans,  or  the  Goths, 
<;i   the  Vandals,  know  about  God? 

Nowhere  but  to  the  Bible  can  men  go  for  the  true 
knowledge  of  God,  or  immortality,  or  salvation,  or  the 
future  life.  Xo where  but  in  the  Bible  can  we  find  a 
•:  1  de  of  morals  so  comprehensive,  so  spiritual,  so  simple, 
-0  practical. 

Another  proof  for  the  doctrine  of  a  supernatural  rev- 
elation is  that  derived  from  the  personal  character  of 
Christ.  The  Scriptures  make  Christ  known  to  us — 
his  birth,  life,  death,  resurrection,  works  and  teachings, 
in  all  of  which  he  reveals  God  to  us,  being  himself  the 
fullest  and  clearest  revelation  of  God  that  has  ever  been 
made  to  man.  He  is  portrayed  in  the  four  gospels  as 
1  he  Perfect  One.  Xo  other  perfect  Son  of  Man,  real  or 
imaginary,  has  ever  been  found. 

But  the  Bible  does  much  more  than  furnish  all  this 
evidence  as  to  what  it  is  in  itself.  One  of  the  strongest 
proofs  of  its  divinity  is  the  great  fruit  which  it  has 


6  The  Bjble  in  Oub  Day. 

borne.  In  the  face  of  the  fiercest  opposition,  and  not- 
withstanding all  the  weaknesses  and  inconsistencies  of 
its  friends,  it  has  driven  back  the  tide  of  heathenism, 
planted  its  banners  in  all  the  continents  of  the  world, 
turned  the  whole  course  of  history,  prepared  the  great 
highway  for  the  highest  civilization,  and  filled  the  whole 
earth  with  songs  of  peace  and  good  will  to  men. 

Turning  once  more  to  the  line  of  evidence  found  in 
the  Scriptures  themselves,  we  find  that  two  of  the 
strongest  arguments  are  yet  to  be  mentioned — argu- 
ments which  we  are  accustomed  to  base  on  miracles  and 
prophecy.  Without  here  attempting  to  define  miracles, 
we  may  say  that  they  were  certainly  intended  as  at- 
testations of  a  supernatural  revelation.  They  were 
the  credentials,  so  to  speak,  of  a  divine  authority. 

Said  John  Foster,  "They  are  the  great  bell  of  the 
universe  which  draws  men  to  God's  sermon."  It  was 
only  when  God  was  speaking  in  some  wonderful  man- 
ner that  miracles  were  performed.  They  were  the  most 
frequent  in  the  days  of  Moses  and  Christ,  and  ceased 
with  the  labors  of  the  apostles.  "They  were,"  said 
Beecher,  "candles  lit  before  the  dawn,  but  put  out  after 
the  sun  had  arisen." 

The  evidential  value  of  prophecy  is  similar  to  that 
of  the  miracle.  It  witnesses  the  fact  that  the  revela- 
tion is  from  God,  for  prophecy  could  not  be  without 
the  direct  intervention  of  God.     The  prophecies  of  the 


The  Bible  in  Our  Day.  7 

Old  Testament,  which  are  clearly  fulfilled  in  the 
New,  constitute  one  of  the  strongest  evidences  we  have 
of  a  supernatural  revelation. 

2.  The  second  reason  for  accepting  the  authority  of  the 
Bible  as  final  is  the  fact  that  it  is  fully  inspired  of  God. 

To  say  that  the  Bible  contains  a  divine  revelation  is 
not  the  same  thing  as  saying  that  it  is  inspired.  The 
distinction  is  a  very  important  one,  and  is  made  on 
scriptural  and  rational  grounds,  though  there  are  many 
who  confound  the  two  statements. 

The  object  of  revelation  is  to  impart  truth.  The 
object  of  inspiration  is  to  malfe  a  correct  record,  and 
to  make  it  teach  what  God  would  have  taught.  When 
man  receives  a  revelation,  God  giants  him  knowledge 
which  none  but  God  can  communicate;  when  a  man  is 
inspired,  God  makes  him  write  without  error.  When 
the  gospel  of  Luke  or  the  book  of  Acts  was  written, 
there  was  inspiration,  but  not  revelation.  When  the 
Apocalypse  was  written  both  inspiration  and  revela- 
tion were  present.  When  the  children  of  Israel  re- 
ceived the  Ten  Commandments  on  Mt.  Sinai,  there  was 
revelation  without  inspiration. 

There  are  men  who  profess  to  be  evangelical,  and 
who  admit  the  authority  of  revelation,  but  fail  to  see 
any  authority  beyond  that  Do  they  admit  inspira- 
tion? They  say  they  do.  But  they  practically  deny 
it  when  they  say  they  are  willing  to  hear  Christ  but 


8  The  Bible  in  Oub  Day. 

aj-e  not  willing  to  be  governed  by  the  epistles  of  Paul, 
or  when  they  reserve  to  themselves  the  right  to  dissect 
the  Scriptures  and  accept  some  parts  as  authoritative 
and  others  as  not.  The  man  who  rejects  the  doctrine 
of  an  infallible  Bible,  "comes  to  the  Bible,"  says  Ban- 
nerman,  "and  sits  over  its  contents  in  the  attitude  of 
a  judge  who  is  to  decide  for  himself  what  in  it  is  true 
and  worthy  to  be  believed,  and  what  in  it  is  false  and 
deserving  to  be  rejected;  not  in  the  attitude  of  the  dis- 
ciple who,  within  the  limits  of  the  inspired  record,  feels 
himself  at  Jesus'  feet,  to  receive  every  word  that  cometh 
out  of  his  mouth.  .  .  ?•  The  assurance  that  the  Bible 
is  the  word  of  God,  and  not  simply  containing  it,  in 
more  or  less  of  its  human  language,  is  one  litted  to  sol- 
emnize the  soul  with  a  holy  fear,  and  a  devout  su It- 
mission  to  its  declarations  as  the  very  utterances  of 
God.  The  assurance,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  truths 
of  revelation  are  mingled,  in  a  manner  unknown  and 
indeterminate,  with  the  defects  of  the  record,  is  one 
which  reverses  the  attitude,  and  brings  man  as  a  mas- 
ter to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  Bible  as  summoned  to 
his  bar,  and  bound  to  render  up  to  him  a  confession  of 
its  errors,  and  not  a  declaration  of  its  one  and  author- 
itative truth." 

Happily  we  are  not  without  some  authoritative  state- 
ments on  this  subject.  We  hear  the  apostle  Peter  say- 
ing in  his  second  epistle:  "For  the  prophecy  came  not 


The  Bible  in  Our  Day.  9 

in  old  time  by  the  will  of  man:  but  holy  men  of  God 
spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 

In  his  second  epistle  to  Timothy  Paul  says:  "All 
Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God."  Here  Paul 
plainly  declares  the  doctrine  of  full  inspiration.  If 
we  take  the  reading  of  the  Revised  Version,  it  is  still 
plainly  implied. 

Perhaps  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  enumerate 
some  of  the  various  theories  of  inspiration:  * 

There  is  what  we  may  call  the  mechanical,  or  dic- 
tation, theory,  which  makes  the  biblical  writers  mere 
machines,  uttering  no  words  of  their  own,  but  uttering 
the  very  words  of  God,  syllable  by  syllable.  This  view 
is  almost  universally  rejected  to-day. 

Another  theory  which  may  be  regarded  as  unsatis- 
factory is  that  of  partial  inspiration.  The  parts  of 
the  Bible  which  are  admitted  to  be  inspired  are  those 
containing  doctrinal  teachings  and  precepts,  or  things 
supernaturally  communicated,  or  the  general  ideas 
found  in  the  Scriptures.  It  is  a  view  held  by  those 
who  deny  that  the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God,  allowing 
only  that  it  contains  the  word  of  God,  a  view  which 
may  be  traced  back  to  Grotius,  and  to  the  Jewish  rabbi, 
Maimonides,  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Still  another  view  is  that  there  are  different  degrees 
of  inspiration.  All  Scripture  is  inspired,  we  are  told, 
but  some  parts  are  more  fully  inspired  than  others.     It 

■•See  Hodye,  Strong-,  Manly. 


io  The  Bible  in  Our  Day. 

is  a  view  which  had  its  origin  with  the  Jews  who  wished 
to  put  the  law  higher  than  the  prophets,  and  the  proph- 
ets higher  than  the  books  of  wisdom. 

Then  there  is  what  we  may  call  natural  inspiration, 
or  inspiration  of  genius,  such  as  that  possessed  by 
Homer,  Plato,  Socrates,  Dante,  Milton,  and  Shakes- 
peare. This  view  degrades  the  whole  idea.  It  allows 
everybody  to  be  inspired.  It  practically  denies  inspi- 
ration, making  what  is  supernatural  natural — as  natural 
as  the  falling  of  the  rain  or  the  shining  of  the  stars. 

Again,  there  is  the  view  that  the  biblical  writers  were 
inspired  just  as  all  Christians  are  inspired.  This  was 
the  view  of  Fred.  W.  Robertson  and  Martineau  in  Eng- 
land and  James  Freeman  Clarke  in  America.  It  is  the 
illumination  theory.  But  inspiration  is  something 
more  than  Christian  illumination,  else  why  do  we 
not  have  written  to-day  such  books  as  were  produced 
in  the  first  century? 

There  is  a  view  yet  to  be  mentioned  which  has  more 
to  commend  it  than  all  those  which  have  been  de- 
scribed. It  is  the  theory  of  the  full  inspiration  of 
all  the  books  of  Holy  Scripture,  so  that  in  every  part 
we  have  the  troth  that  is  without  a  mixture  of  error, 
and  an  authority  that  is  final.  This  is  the  view  held 
by  the  majority  of  evangelical  writers. 

Says  Dr.  Philip  Schaff:  "The  New  Testament  pre- 
sents in  its  wav  the  same  union   of  the  divine  and 


The  Bible  in  Our  Day.  ii 

human  natures  as  the  person  of  Christ.  .  .  .  The  Bible 
is  thoroughly  human,  though  without  error,  in  con- 
tents and  form,  in  the  mode  of  its  rise,  its  compila- 
tion, its  preservation  and  transmission;  yet  at  the  same 
time  thoroughly  divine,  both  in  its  thoughts  and  werds, 
in  its  origin,  vitality,  energy  and  effect." 

Dr.  R.  V.  Foster,  in  his  Systematic  Theology,  page 
124,  says:  "It  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  the  theory  which 
best  conforms  itself  to  all  the  accepted  results  of  a  well- 
balanced  and  reverent  biblical  criticism,  is  that  which 
regards  inspiration  as  dynamical  in  its  mode  and  pie- 
nary  in  its  extent.  .  .  .  But  of  course  those  who  hold 
(as  most  persons  do)  that  we  cannot  think  without 
thinking  in  words,  will  see  at  once  that  this  plenary 
inspiration  must  at  the  same  time  be  verbal,  but  not  in 
any  such  sense  as  to  override  the  linguistic  and  rhetor- 
ical predilections  and  preferences  of  the  respective 
writers." 

While,  then,  the  Bible  bears  all  the  marks  of  human 
authorship,  it  is  also  the  word  of  God  in  every  part, 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  This  applies,  of  course, 
only  to  the  original  autographs  of  the  inspired  writers. 
And  yet  the  blemishes  and  defects  which  have  crept 
into  the  Bible  through  the  hands  of  copyists  and  trans- 
lators, are  so  slight  that  we  may  feel  sure  that  we  prac- 
tically have  the  same  Bible  to-day  as  it  was  when  it  was 
originally  written. 


1 2  The  Bible  ix  On;  Day. 

If  this  view  of  full  inspiration  be  correct,  we  see  more 
force  than  ever  in  the  claim  that  the  Scriptures  are  our 
only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  and  that  they 
voice  for  us — in  Paul's  Epistles  as  well  as  in  the  gospels 
— the  very  commands,  precepts,  and  promises  of  God. 

The  authority  of  the  Bible  is  based  on  what  it  is  in 
itself — on  its  truthfulness,  sacredness,  and  grandeur, 
or  rather  on  the  fact  that  it  is  God's  book.  This  judg- 
ment is  not  weakened  by  the  admission  of  the  human 
element  in  the  authorship  of  the  Scriptures.  It  is  bad 
reasoning  in  this  case  to  say,  "Human,  therefore  fal- 
lible; fallible,  therefore  false  in  some  measure."  This 
might  be  true  if  the  human  were  not  superintended 
and  modified  by  the  divine.  If  the  writers  were  super- 
Baturally  controlled,  we  have  at  least  the  right  to  pre- 
sume that  they  wrote  a  correct  account  of  all  matters 
Intended  to  be  recorded. 

It  is  true  that  some  of  the  enemies  of  the  Bible,  and 
even  some  of  its  friends,  have  had  a  great  deal  to  say 
about  the  errors  supposed  to  be  in  the  Bible.  There 
are  biblical  scholars  in  our  country  to-day,  who,  in 
recent  books  and  published  articles,  have  affirmed  their 
belief  that  there  were  errors  in  the  Bible  as  originally 
written.  A  greut  deal  has  been  said  about  errors  in 
matters  of  science,  but  these  are  not  so  easy  to  find  as 
one  might  think.  It  would  be  rather  difficult  to  lind 
a  list  of  biblical  passages  which  have  been  corrected  by 


The  Biblb  in  Ouk  Day.  13 

science,  though  it  may  be  admitted  that  science  has  now 
and  then  corrected  a  false  interpretation  of  some 
scriptural  passage.  Then  we  hear  of  errors  in  matters 
of  history.  But  when  we  make  allowance  for  the  mis- 
takes of  copyists  and  for  misapprehension  of  the  real 
facts  of  history,  this  objection  largely  disappears. 

Discovery  and  archeology  have  done  much  to  verif) 
the  truthfulness  of  the  Bible.  Besides  these  we  hear 
of  errors  of  morality,  errors  of  chronology,  errors  of 
(juotation,  errors  of  prophecy.  But  these  are  only  al- 
leged errors,  most  of  which  can  be  reasonably  explained, 
and  all  of  which  might  possibly  be  explained  if  we  had 
all  the  facts  before  us. 


IL 

THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  BIBLICAL  CRITI- 
CISM. 

In  some  respects  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  word 
"criticism"  has  ever  been  used  in  connection  with  live 
Bible,  for  its  real  meaning  has  perhaps  been  misunder- 
stood by  the  majority  of  people.  Some  have  understood 
it  to  mean  finding  fault  with  the  Scriptures,  or  cutting 
them  to  pieces.  The  example  of  some  critics  has  made 
the  impression  that  this  was  the  meaning  of  the  word. 
But  the  word  does  not  mean  hostility  to  the  Bible,  nor 
a  rationalistic  attitude  to  the  Bible,  nor  a  particular 
set  of  results.  It  is  a  method  of  discovering  and  verify- 
ing facts  relating  to  the  Bible,  and  which  we  ought  to 
know  before  attempting  to  interpret  it. 

Some  critics,  indeed,  are  hostile  to  the  Bible,  but 
the  fault  is  with  the  critic — with  his  spirit  or  his  at- 
titude— rather  than  with  the  processes  of  criticism. 
There  is  certainly  no  harm  in  studying  the  foundations 
of  Christian  belief;  for  if  there  are  any  flaws  in  the 
Christian  argument,  let  them  be  exposed,  and  if  there 
is  anything  which  needs  to  have  the  light  turned  upon 
it,  let  the  light  stream  in.  As  a  rule,  the  more  men 
investigate  the  facts  pertaining  to  the  Bible,  the  stronger 
and  more  intelligent  is  their  faith  in  Christianity. 
When   we   examine   thoroughly   and   honestly   all    the 

(14) 


The  Bible  in  Our  Day.  15 

attacks  made  upon  the  Bible,  or  any  part  of  it,  and 
see  how  baseless  and  how  trivial  the  objections  are, 
it  is  no  small  gain  for  the  student  of  God's  word. 

The  subjects  discussed  under  the  head  of  Biblical 
criticism  are  all  such  questions  as  the  origin,  form, 
and  value  of  the  writings,  the  languages  in  which  they 
are  written,  the  condition  of  the  text,  and  the  prin- 
ciples by  which  the  writings  are  to  be  interpreted. 
When  we  consider,  for  example,  the  origin  of  a  book, 
we  ask,  Who  was  the  author?  What  were  Ms  qualifica- 
tions for  authorship?  His  occupation,  or  his  habits? 
Or,  we  ask,  Is  the  writing  genuine?  Is  it  authentic? 
Is  it  by  one  author,  or  is  it  a  compilation?  Or,  When 
and  where  was  the  book  written  ?  It  is  certainly  proper 
and  important  to  study  these  questions.  Very  truly 
has  Dr.  C.  M.  Mead  said:  "Genuine  criticism  is  noth- 
ing but  the  search  after  truth;  and  of  this  there  cannot 
be  too  much."  But,  however  important  such  study  is, 
it  is  not  indispensable.  These  are  only  matters  of  detail, 
and  do  not  touch  the  great  and  vital  truths  of  the  Bible. 
Millions  of  Bible  readers  who  have  long  since  passed 
through  the  gates  of  pearl,  never  knew  anything  about 
the  questions  of  Biblical  criticism.  Criticism  is  not, 
therefore,  essential  to  the  life  of  the  Christian.  Men 
do  not  accept  the  Bible  on  the  authority  of  a  pastor, 
or  Sunday  school  teacher;  nor  do  they  accept  it  on 
the  authority  of  some  learned  critic.     There  is  some- 


1 6  The  Bible  in  Our  Day. 

thing  in  the  Book  itself  which  commands  the  reverence 
and  faith  of  men.  If  we  should  limit  the  field  of 
criticism  to  the  contents  of  the  books  and  their  char- 
acteristics, the  methods  employed  would  be  three  in 
number,  and  are  called  respectively,  the  literary,  the 
historical,  and  the  theological  methods.  When  the 
literary  method  is  followed  such  features  are  studied  as 
the  author's  vocabulary,  idioms,  phrases,  figures  of 
speech  and  style. 

The  historical  method  considers  all  such  matters  as 
allusions  to  historical  persons,  intitutions,  or  events; 
such  matters  as  are  not  mentioned  when  we  would  ex- 
pect them  to  be  mentioned,  and  such  matters  as  do  not 
appear  to  be  in  their  proper  chronological  order.  The 
theological  method  deals  more  with  the  subject  matter  of 
the  books,  the  object  being  to  determine  as  much  as  pos- 
sible the  system  of  thought,  or  the  form  of  doctrine 
held  by  the  author.  But  what  of  the  present  state,  or 
outlook,  of  Biblical  criticism?  If  we  look  to  the  litera- 
ture of  the  day  for  an  answer,  it  will  be  something 
like  this:  "The  darkness  lingers,  but  the  day  is  dawn- 
ing. *'  The  great  tendency  is  toward  the  evangelical 
position.  The  destructive  critics  have  been  able  to  see 
that  many  of  their  positions  are  untenable,  and  (lie 
evangelical  critics  are  not  so  timid  as  they  were  formerly. 
The  evangelical  critics  have,  with  the  same  scholar- 
ship and  industry  shown  by  their  opponents,  examined 


The  Bible  in  Our  Day.  17 

the  same  sources  of  information,  pursued  the  same  Hues 
of  investigation,  and  obtained  results  more  positive  in 
their  character. 

The  great  skeptic  is  not  as  oracular  in  our  day  as  he 
was  in  other  days,  and  his  marches  through  the  land 
are  not  as  triumphal.  It  is  because  the  light  has 
been  diffused,  the  average  of  intelligence  has  been 
raised,  and  the  processes  of  investigation  have  been 
much  more  generally  carried  on. 

liiblical  criticism  is  not  a  new  thing.  It  goes  back 
to  the  time  when  the  Ebionites  rejected  Paul's  Epistles 
because  of  their  doctrinal  teachings,  and  when  the 
Marcionites  rejected  all  but  some  of  Paul's  writings  be- 
cause these  only,  they  thought,  were  in  harmony  with 
their  doctrine.  These  decisions  were  made  chiefly  on 
internal  grounds.  At  a  later  period  the  stress  was  laid 
on  external  evidence,  or  the  testimony  of  the  successors 
of  the  apostles,  whenever  the  origin  or  acceptance  of 
the  books  of  the  Xew  Testament  was  in  question.  The 
reformers  came  back  to  internal  evidence,  which  was 
especially  emphasized  by  Luther  and  Calvin.  It  was  on 
such  evidence  that  Luther  rejected  the  Epistle  of 
James.  The  Rationalists  continued  this  process  till  the 
third  decade  of  this  century,  when  the  historical  school 
led  the  way  back  to  a  new  study  of  the  extra-canonical 
literature.  In  our  day  there  seems  to  be  a  disposition 
on  all  sides  to  profit  by  the  mistakes  which  have  been 


1 8  The  Bible  in  Our  Day. 

made  by  others  in  the  past,  and  a  desire  to  do  unbiased, 
unprejudiced  work — work  of  a  truly  scientific  character 
— and  to  accept  light  from  any  quarter.  Among  the 
more  important  problems  in  New  Testament  criticism, 
and  which  are  still  discussed,  are  the  following:  The 
origin  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  the  authorship  of  the 
fourth  gospel,  the  genuineness  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles, 
the  authorship  of  Hebrews,  and  the  genuineness  and 
integrity  of  the  Apocalypse. 

In  1885  a  Tubingen  professor  (Yoltcr)  attacked  the 
integrity  of  the  Apocalypse.  About  the  same  time  a 
pupil  of  Harnack  (Vischer)  made  a  similar  attack  on 
the  same  book.  In  1888  came  an  attack  on  Galatians 
from  the  University  of  Berne,  in  1891  one  on  Acts 
from  the  University  of  Strasburg,  and  in  1892  one  on 
the  Synoptic  Gospels  from  the  University  of  Heidel- 
berg. These  are  all  subjective  in  character,  and  hence 
onesided,  and  transitory  in  their  effect.  Occasionally 
work  of  a  similar  character  is  done  in  the  United  States. 

This  is  the  evidence  that  we  have  that  "the  darkness 
still  lingers."  But  such  criticisms  as  these  are  excep- 
tional, and  are  comparatively  unimportant  when  we 
consider  the  illustrious  names  on  the  positive  side,  and 
the  growing  army  of  men  who  are  no  longer  swayed  by 
prejudice,  or  biased  by  schools  of  thought,  as  many  in 
the  past  have  been.  And  this  is  the  evidence  that  "the 
day  is  dawning." 


m. 


MEN  OF  TO-DAY  AS  INTERPRETERS  OF 
THE  BIBLE. 

As  exegesis  naturally  follows  criticism,  our  next  in- 
quiry will  be  concerning  men  of  to-day  as  interpreters 
of  the  Bible.  We  cannot  go  far  without  being  im- 
pressed by  the  fact  that  the  interpreter  has  a  much 
greater  opportunity  of  rendering  a  real  service  to  hu- 
manity than  has  the  critic.  His  time  is  consumed 
not  so  much  with  introductory  details  and  external 
features  as  with  the  very  essence  of  God's  revelation 
itself — not  so  much  with  the  shell  as  the  kernel. 
Reference  here  is  made,  of  course,  to  men  whose  schol- 
arship and  labors  entitle  them  to  an  honorable  place 
among  the  interpreters  of  the  Bible.  But  it  would  be 
very  easy  to  extend  the  meaning  of  the  word  so  as  to 
include  all  who  at  any  time  undertake  to  preach  the 
gospel,  for  all  such  persons  are,  in  one  sense,  inter- 
preters of  the  Scriptures. 

What  the  churches  need  to-day  more  than  any  other 
one  thing  is  men  who  are  spiritually  and  intellectually 
qualified  to  expound  the  Scriptures  to  their  fellowmen. 
Paul's  advice  to  Timothy  was,  "Preach  the  word."  But 
there  are  thousands  of  sermons  preached,  even  in  this 
(19) 


20  The  Bible  in  Our  Day. 

age  of  ours,  in  which  the  word  of  God  is  almost  entirely 
ignored.  It  is  perhaps  a  string  of  pearls  from  the  litera- 
ture of  the  past,  or  a  dip  into  the  learning  of  our  times, 
or  a  sensational  leap  into  notoriety,  or  a  series  of  pic- 
tures merely  for  entertainment,  or  an  unedifying  per- 
formance of  the  voice. 

If  the  deep,  full,  real  meaning  of  God's  Word  were 
made  known  to  God's  people  hy  his  preachers;  if  these 
same  preachers  were  more  careful  in  declaring  the  whole 
counsel  of  God  than  in  warping  and  twisting  certain 
isolated  texts;  if  in  all  our  churches  the  word  of  God 
were  faithfully  expounded  from  year  to  year,  then  you 
would  see  a  hardier,  more  A'igorous  body  of  Christians, 
more  solidity  and  moral  stamina  in  Christian  char- 
acter, and  a  more  speedy  arrival  of  the  better  day  that 
is  coming. 

It  is  a  blessed  fact  that  we  have  an  open  Bible.  It 
is  also  a  blessed  fact  that  all  alike,  the  lettered  and  the 
unlettered,  may  read  the  Bible  with  profit.  Neverthe- 
less it  is  true  that  a  great  deal  of  the  Bible  cannot  be 
understood  without  much  laborious  study.  Many  chap- 
ters and  books  of  the  Bible  we  read  over  and  over  again, 
each  time  adding  something  new  to  our  stock  of  biblical 
knowledge.  It  is  not  surprising  that  we  should  need 
commentaries  on  the  Bible,  when  we  iwvd  them  on  the 
writings  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  on  all  the 
other  literatures  that  have  come  down  to  us  from  an- 


The  Bible  in  Our  Day.  21 

cient  times.  We  know  that  words  change  their  mean- 
ing, and  modes  of  thought  are   constantly  changing. 

It  might  he  a  matter  of  some  interest  if  we  made  a 
comparison  between  the  commentators  and  commen- 
taries of  our  day  with  those  of  other  days. 

Perhaps  the  first  thing  we  will  notice  is  that  more 
reliable  methods  are  used  in  our  day.  We  know  how 
unsparing  Jesus  was  in  condemning  the  methods  of 
Jewish  interpreters  who  nullified  the  commandments 
of  God  and  taught  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of 
men,  and  how  vigorous  Paul  was  in  denouncing  "Jewish 
fables  and  commandments  of  men/*'  "foolish  question- 
ings and  genealogies  and  strife  and  fightings  about  the 
law,"  and  "philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  after  the  tradi- 
tion of  men,  after  the  rudiments  of  the  world,  and  not 
after  Christ." 

We  read  how  Philo,  who  loved  to  allegorize  the  Scrip- 
tures, made  the  four  rivers  in  the  garden  of  Eden  mean 
prudence,  temperance,  courage,  and  justice;  how 
Clement,  of  Alexandria,  maintained  that  the  laws  of 
Moses  had  four  meanings — the  natural,  the  mystical, 
the  moral,  and  the  prophetical;  how  Swedenborg  found 
three  senses  everywhere,  the  natural,  the  spiritual,  and 
the  celestial;  how  the  followers  of  Kant  abandoned  the 
literal  and  historical  sense;  how  Paulus  in  his  New 
Testament  commentary  rejected  all  supernatural  agency 
in  human  affairs;  how  David  Strauss  turned  much  of 


12  The  Bible  in  Our  Day. 

gospel  history  into  a  myth;  how  Kuenen  and  Wellhausen 
were  controlled  by  speculative  philosophy;  and  how 
many  narrow  sectarians  have  illegitimately  turned  the 
Scriptures  to  sectarian  advantage.  But  tins  is  not  all 
that  may  be  paid  about  the  misinterpretation  of  Scrip- 
ture. 

Let  us  listen  to  the  strong  words  of  Canon  Farrar  on 
this  subject  in  his  "History  of  Interpretation,"  "The 
misinterpretation  of  Scripture/'  says  this  brave  and 
eloquent  preacher,  "must  be  reckoned  among  the  gravest 
calamities  of  Christendom.  .  .  .  The  Crusaders,  think- 
ing that  they  did  God  service  by  wading  bridle  deep 
in  the  blood  of  infidels,  who  were  often  morally  superior 
to  themselves,  justified  their  massacres  by  the  exter- 
minating wars  of  the  Book  of  Judges.  ...  A  crime  so 
atrocious  as  Ihc  massacre  of  St  Bartholomew  was  hailed 
by  Pope  Gregory  XIII.  with  acclamation.  .  .  .  Even 
the  Spanish  Inquisition — that  infamy  of  Christendom 
-r-appealed  to  scriptural  warrant  for  the  right  to  im- 
molate its  holocausts  of  victims,  and  the  bloodstained 
Alva  received  from  the  Pope  a  jeweled  sword  with  the 
inscription,  'Receive  the  holy  sword,  a  gift  from  God.' 
.  .  .  Not  only  cursings  and  anathemas,  but  the  axes, 
the  stakes,  the  gibbets,  the  thumbscrews,  the  racks  and 
all  the  instruments  of  torture  kept  in  the  dungeons  of 
priests  to  deprave  the  heart  of  nations,  and  to  horrify 
the  world,  were  defended  by  scraps  of  text*  and  shreds 


Tbe  Bible  in  Our  Day.  23 

of  metaphor  from  the  mercy  breathing  parables  of 
Christ.  Texts  have  been  used  a  thousand  times  to  bar 
the  progress  of  science,  to  beat  down  the  sword  of 
freedom,  to  destroy  the  benefactors  of  humanity,  to 
silence  the  voice  of  truth." 

It  is  not  so  as  a  rule  with  the  interpreters  of  our 
day.  Their  methods  are  more  commendable  in  spirit, 
more  thorough  in  detail,  and  more  scientific  in  their 
processes.  Even  the  various  denominational  commen- 
taries are  less  and  less  biased  by  the  sectarian  spirit,  the 
desire  being  rather  to  make  a  contribution  to  Christian 
scholarship,  or  to  biblical  knowledge.  And  while  the 
commentaries  of  our  day  are  characterized,  as  a  rule, 
by  "scholarship  and  thoroughness,  they  are  at  the  same 
time  reverent,  honest,  devout,  and  conservative  in  their 
tendencies.  It  is  only  now  and  then  that  one  goes  off 
on  tangent  lines,  or  rides  a  hobby  horse,  or  runs  wild 
with  speculation,  or  is  turned  into  the  Shibboleth  of 
churches  with  or  without  written  creeds. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  it  may  be  also  remarked 
that  the  tendency  in  exegetical  theology  is  not  towards 
the  extremes  in  theological  thought,  but  rather  towards 
a  conservative  or  medium  position. 


IV. 

TEACHINGS   OF  THE  BIBLE   WHICH  NEED 
EMPHASIS  IN  OUR  DAY. 

My  last  topic  is  perhaps  of  a  in  ore  practical  character 
tlian  the  others — the  teachings  of  the  Bible  which 
should  be  specially  emphasized  in  our  day. 

1.  The  teaching  which  I  would  have  emphasized  first 
of  all,  is  that  concerning  the  presence  of  a  holy,  per- 
sonal God  in  the  daily  life  of  men— in  the  social,  busi- 
ness, intellectual,  and  religious  life  of  men. 

It  is  not  that  this  great  truth,  "God  in  us,  and  we 
in  God,"  has  never  been  preached,  or  is  not  preached 
at  all  to-day.  What  I  mean  is  that  this  great  doc- 
trine of  the  divine  immanence,  the  divine  indwelling, 
needs  to  be  emphasized  more  than  ever  in  our  day. 

Perhaps  no  loftier  truth  was  ever  revealed  to  men 
than  that  they  were  created  for  fellowship  with  God, 
and  this  is  their  highest  privilege  on  the  summits  of  the 
great  mountains  of  redemption.  Why  is  it  we  have  so 
many  shams  in  religion,  so  much  hollowness  and  dead- 
ness  in  the  churches,  or  so  much  drifting  with  the 
muddy  currents  of  the  world?  It  is  because  the  people 
have  not  been  thinking  about  God,  or  it  is  because  they 
(24) 


The  Bible  in  Our  Day.  25 

have  not  had  the  proper  conception  of  God,  or  it  is 
because  they  have  never  had  a  deep,  genuine  experience 
of  the  presence  of  God.  Then  perhaps  there  is  some 
truth  in  the  words  of  a  recent  prominent  writer,  who 
says:  "In  the  craft  and  subtlety  of  the  devil  and  man, 
religion  i:pg  evcT  tended  to  wither  away  into  Judaism, 
into  Rabbinism.  into  scholasticism,  into  Romanism,  into 
sectarianism,  into  the  dead  schemes  of  dogmatic  belief, 
into  the  dead  routines  of  elaborate  ceremonial,  and  into 
the  dead  exelusiveness  of  parly  narrowness/5  Hence  it 
is  that  men  need  to  come  hack  to  God,  to  get  a  vision 
of  God,  to  see  him  in  the  burning  bush,  to  get  some 
proper  conception  of  Iris  holiness,  majesty,  and  glory, 
to  hold  exalted  fellowship  with  him,  and  to  love  him 
with  a  love  that  is  made  up  of  all  that  is  noblest  and  best 
in  their  natures.  Above  all  it  is  for  the  preacher  to  have 
his  life  in  God,  and  God  in  his  life;  to  know  of  a  surety 
lhat  God  is  with  him,  and  that  God  is  speaking  to  h"m 
and  through  him.  Above  all  it  is  for  the  preacher  to 
be  a  man  of  prayer,  of  faith,  and  of  constant  com- 
munion with  God.  Above  all  it  is  for  the  preacher  to 
have  God  in  his  thoughts,  to  have  God  in  all  his  plans, 
to  have  God  in  all  his  sermons,  and  in  all  his  private 
and  public  affairs.  How  can  he  ever  hope  to  win  men 
over  to  a  \ital  piety,  or  persuade  them  to  live  at  the 
foot  of  xho  cross,  unless  they  see  that  he  himself  has 
been  with  God? 


26  The  Bible  in  Ouk  Day. 

But  it  is  not  the  preacher  I  would  dwell  on  so  much 
as  the  message.  We  do  not  need  anything  new,  or 
novel,  or  startling  in  religion.  We  need  nothing  one- 
sided, or  vague,  or  indefinite.  But  we  do  need  the  re- 
ligion which  comes  down  from  heaven — the  religion 
that  fired  and  filled  the  hearts  of  St.  Paul,  and 
Martin  Luther,  and  John  Knox,  and  Ewing,  and 
King,  and  McAdow,  and  Donnell.  What  I  con- 
tend for  is  that  the  preaching  most  needed  in  our 
times,  when  German  pantheism  and  Indian  philosophy 
are  afloat  in  the  air,  and  when  religion  often  means 
nothing  but  the  mumbling  of  cant  phrases  or  wearing 
line  clothes  to  church,  is  that  winch  gives  men  a  proper 
conception  of  a  personal  and  holy  God,  and  of  the 
coming  into  right  relations  with  him  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

2.  The  second  teaching  of  the  Bible,  winch  I  would 
have  emphasized  is  that  concerning  what  we  are  to  do 
for  humanity's  sake.  Have  you  ever  thought  about 
how  much  God  himself  has  done?  The  Sabbath  was 
for  man,  the  Bible  was  for  man,  and  the  life  of  Christ 
was  for  man.  If  you  will  read  the  four  gospels  again 
and  again  until  your  mind  is  saturated  with  the  story, 
if  in  the  solitude  of  the  quiet  hour  you  will  ponder  all 
the  events  between  Bethlehem  and  Calvary,  yon  will 
get  a  vision  fairer  than  mortal  man  has  ever  found 
elsewhere.    Something  for  humanity's  sake  is  the  ecu- 


The  Bible  in  Our  Day.  27 

*• 
tral  feature  of  that  vision,  and  hence  it  follows  that 
every-  Christlike  life  must  be  for  humanity's  sake.  Such 
a  truth  is  peculiarly  appropriate  for  the  day  in  winch 
we  live,  because  it  is  pre-eminently  the  day  when 
the  hearts  of  men  everywhere  are  widening,  when  the 
enthusiasm  for  humanity  is  at  high  tide,  and  when 
ten  thousand  gates  are  swinging  wide  open  to  the  mes- 
sengers of  charity  and  good  will.  It  is  the  new  era  of 
good  works  for  humanity's  sake,  when  kings  and  presi- 
dents, diplomats  and  statesmen,  armies  and  navies,  are 
kindling  new  fires  upon  the  altars  of  patriotism.  It  is 
a  time  when  the  conception  of  national  and  inter- 
national responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  men  is  growing 
rapidly — as  rapidly  as  the  years  are  going  by.  It  seems 
to  be,  therefore,  a  peculiarly  opportune  time  for  preach- 
ing with  more  emphasis  the  Bible  doctrine  of  service 
and  sacrifice  for  man. 

3.  A  third  Bible  teaching  which  needs  emphasis  in 
our  day  is  that  concerning  right  living. 

What  we  need  is  more  ethical  preaching,  based  on 
the  religion  of  Christ.  Men  need  to  be  morally  in- 
structed, to  have  their  consciences  made  more  tender, 
and  to  have  more  of  honor  and  integrity  in  the  warp 
and  woof  of  their  lives.  Perhaps  it  is  as  much  the 
business  of  the  home  as  that  of  the  pulpit  to  give  this 
instruction,  but  the  pulpit  must  give  it  even  if  the  home 
fails  to  do  so.    If  the  moral  tone  of  the  individual,  or 


28  The  Bible  in  Our  Day. 

the  home,  or  the  community  is  not  as  high  as  it  should 
he,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  pulpit  to  raise  it.  How  im- 
portant, therefore,  that  right  living  should  be  practiced 
by  the  pulpit  before  moral  instruction  is  given  to  tbe 
people.  The  greatest  obstruction  in  the  road  of  the 
kingdom's  progress  is  not  infidelity,  but  the  moral  in- 
consistencies of  church  people.  Men  of  the  world  stand 
at  a  distance  and  point  the  finger  of  scorn  when  they  sec 
ministers  and  laymen  in  unseemly  scrambles  for  place 
and  power,  or  when  they  see  them  in  conspiracy  to 
destroy  the  rights  of  others,  or  when  they  see  them; 
so  to  speak,  doing  evil  that  good  may  come. 

-1.  The  fourth  Bible  teaching,  which  I  would  have 
emphasized,  is  that  which  bears  on  the  greatest  of 
themes — the  evangelization  of  the  world. 

In  these  latter  times,  after  one  hundred  years  of 
missions,  after  so  much  heroic  and  fruitful  service  has 
been  done  by  the  Careys,  the  Judsons,  the  Livingstones, 
the  Moffats,  the  Taylors,  and  the  Pa  tons,  church  people 
everywhere  are  beginning  to  be  seized  with  the  convic- 
tion that  the  finger  of  God  is  pointing  to  missionary 
fields  as  the  field  for  the  last  and  the  suprcmest  effort 
of  the  Christian  Church.  The  time  for  church  debates, 
theological  wrangles,  and  sectarian  bitterness  is  gone 
by,  and  a  new  era  is  upon  us.  We  live  at  a  time  wheu 
a  nation  is  converted  in  a  day;  when  ten  thousand 
trumpet  calls  are  coming  from  different  parts  of  the 


The  Bible  in  Oub  Day.  29 

globe;  when  large  fortunes  are  laid  on  the  altar  for  the 
spread  of  Christianity;  and  when  statesmen,  scientists, 
inventors,  editors,  teachers,  and  merchants,  all  have  a 
share  in  the  work  of  evangelization.  We  have  had  the 
Parliament  of  Eeligions,  and  the  two  great  lessons  com- 
ing from  it  are:  First,  that  Christianity  did  not  suffer 
by  comparison;  second,  that  it  cannot,  on  principle,  l>e 
expected  to  take  a  place  among  the  other  religions  of 
the  world.  Christianity  is  the  only  religion  about  which 
it  could  be  said  that  it  is  final,  universal,  and  absolute. 
This  is  the  age  of  missionary  responsibility,  and  es- 
pecially for  English  speaking  peoples.  Shall  we  bear  a 
manly  part,  or  shall  it  be  an  ignoble  one?  Let  it  be 
the  former;  and,  to  carry  out  this  purpose,  let  all  our 
colleges  and  seminaries  be  endowed,  let  all  our  publish- 
ing work  be  sustained,  let  all  our  people  be  trained  in 
systematic  giving,  and  let  all  our  preachers  be  pure  and 
strong,  preaching  the  Word  of  God  in  the  power  of  the 
Spirit — all  in  the  name  of  a  religion  which  is  as  "broad 
as  the  path  of  God's  commandments,  deep  as  the  ocean 
of  lus  love,  free  as  his  common  air,  bright  as  his  im- 
partial sunshine,  loving  as  his  all-embracing^  mercy, 
universal  as  his  omnipotent  rule." 


LIST  OF  BOOKS 


STUDENTS 


NEW  TESTAMENT 


NASHVILLE,  TENN. : 
Cumberland  PREgBYTKRiAN  Publishing  Houbb. 

1899, 


List  of  Books  for  Students  of  the  New 
Testament. 


Note. — The  books  in  the  following  list  are  recommended 
as  aids  to  New  Testament  study,  but  this  recommendation 
does  not  carry  with  it  an  endorsement  of  all  the  opinions 
expressed.  Any  of  these  books  may  be  ordered  through 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Publishing  House,  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee.     Publishers'  prices  are  given. 

i.    New  Testament  in  Greek, 

Westcott  and  Hort  :  The  New  Testament  in  the  origin*! 
Greek. 
Harpers.    $1.00.     Macmillan.    $1.00.     Students'  edition, 
with  Lexicon.     $1.90. 
Teschendorf:  The  New  Testament  in  Greek.     Gebhart's 
edition. 
Leincke  &  Buechner  (N.  Y.),  $1.35. 
Weymouth:  The  Resultant  Greek  Testament.     Exhibiting 
the  variations  of  all  the  leading  editions. 
Funk  and  Wag-nails.     $3.00. 
Scrivener:  Parallel  New  Testament,  Greek  and  English. 
Containing  in  four  parallel  columns  the  Authorized 
Version,   the    Revised  Version,  the   Received  Greek 
Text,  and  the  variations  of  the  Revisers'  Greek  Text- 
Cambridge  Press.     $4.50. 
Palmer  :  Parallel    New   Testament,    Greek   and    English.. 
Same  as  preceding  except  that  Revisers'  Greek  Text 
is  given,  with  variations  of  Received  Greek  Text. 
Oxford  Press.     $6.00. 


List  of  Books  fob  Students 


2.    New  Testament  Lexicons. 

Thayer  :  Greek-English  Lexicon  of  the  New  Testament. 

Harpers.     $5.00.     Best. 
:Robinson  :  Greek-English  Lexicon  of  the  New  Testament 

Houghton  and  Mifflin.     $4.00. 
•Cremer  :  Biblico-Theological  Lexicon  of   the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

.Scribners.     $8.00. 

3.     New  Testament  Greek  Grammars. 

"Winer  :  Grammar  of  the  N.  T.  Idiom.     Translated  by  W. 
F.  Moulton. 

vScribners.     $5.00.     Best. 
Buttman:  Grammar  of  N.  T.  Greek.     Thaj'er's  edition. 

W.  F.  Draper.     $2.75. 
Burton  :  Syntax  of  Moods  and  Tenses  of  New  Testament. 

University  of  Chicago  Press.     $1.50. 
Green:  Grammar  of  the  Greek  Testament.     (London  edi- 
tion, 1886.) 

Religious  Tract  Society.     7s,  6d. 

4.     New  Testament  Greek  Concordances. 

Moui/TON  and  Geden  :  Concordance  to  Greek  Testament. 

Scribners.     $7.00.     Best. 
Bruder  :  Concordance  to  Greek  Testament. 

Bredt  (Leipsig.)     25  marks. 
Wigram:  Englishman's  Greek  Concordance. 

London,  1883.      £lt  Is. 

5.     Language  of  the  New  Testament. 

SiitfCOX  :  Language  of  the  New  Testament. 
Whittaker.     75  cents. 


of  the  New  Testament.  5 

Simcox  :  Writers  of  the  New  Testament. 

Whittaker.     75  cents. 
Hatch  :  Essaj-s  in  Biblical  Greek. 

Macmillan.     $2.75. 
Trench  :  Synonyms  of  the  New  Testament. 

Macmillan.     $3.50. 
Schaff  :  Companion   to    Greek    Testament    and    English 
Version. 

Harpers.     $2.75. 

6.    New  Testament  in  English. 

Scrivener  :  Cambridge  Paragraph  Bible.     Critical  edition 
of  Authorized  Version. 
Macmillan.     $6.00. 
Bagster's  Engeish  Hexapea. 
Bagster  (London).     2£,  2s. 
The   Variorum   Bibi<e   for  Bibee  Teachers,  edited  by 
Cheyne,  Driver,  Clarke,  Goodwin,  Sanday. 
E.  and  J.  B.  Young.     $4.50.     Prices  vary  according  to 
type  and  binding. 
Revised  Version  (1881). 

Oxford  and  Cambridge  Presses. 
Revised  Version   (with  readings  preferred  by  American 
Committee),  English  edition. 
Oxford  and  Cambridge  Presses. 
Revised  Version   (with   American   readings).     American 
edition  to  be  published  perhaps  in  latter  part  of  1899. 

7.     History  of  the  English  Text. 

WESTCOTT  :  History  of  English  Bible. 

Macmillan.     52.50. 
Moulton  :  History  of  English  Bible. 

Wesleyan  Book  Room  (London).     2s,  Gd. 


6        List  of  Books  for  Students 

IyiGHTFOOT,  Ei,UCOTT,  Trench  :  Essays  on  Revision. 

Macmillan.     $2.00. 
Abbott,  Riddle,  Dwight,  Thayer,  Kendrick,  Crosby  : 

The  New  Revision  and  its  Study  (Philadelphia). 
ElucoTT,  Palmer  :  The  Revisers  and  the  Greek  Text  of 

the  New  Testament. 
Eadie:  The  English  Bible.     Two  Vols. 

Macmillan.     $8.00. 

8.     New  Testament  Canon. 

Chartrris  :  Canonicity.     Based  on  Kirchhofer 

Blackwood  (Edinburgh).     18s. 
WkstcoTT  :  History  of  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament. 

Macmillan.     $3.00.     Valuable. 

9.    Textual  Criticism. 

Sckiyknkk  :  Introduction  to  Criticism  of  New  Testament. 

Macmillan.     $5.00.     Conservative. 
Warfield:  Textual  Criticism  of  New  Testament. 

Whittaker.     75  cents. 
Schafp  :  Companion  to  Greek  Testament. 

Harpers.     $2.75.     Very  useful. 
Abbott:  Critical  Essays. 

Ellis  (Boston).     $3.50.    Scholarly. 
Wkstcott  and  HorT  :  Greek  Testament.     Vol.  II. 

Harpers.     $2.00. 

io.     New  Testament  Introduction. 

Dons  :  Introduction  to  New  Testament. 

Whittaker.     75  cents.     Brief,  but  scholarly 


of  the  New  Testament.  7 

McCLYMONT :  The  New  Testament  and  its  Writers  (Guild 

Series). 

Revell.     40  cents.     For  Bible  classes. 
Farrar  :  Messages  of  the  Books. 

Button.     $3.50.     Popular. 
Salmon  :  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament. 

Scribners.     $3.50. 
Kerr  :  Introduction  to  New  Testament  Study. 

Revell.     $1.50.     Popular. 
Westcott  :  Introduction  to  the  Four  Gospels. 

Macmillan.     $2.25. 
Geoag  :  Introduction  to  Synoptical  Gospels. 

Scribners.     $3.00.     Excellent. 
Geoag  :  Introduction  to  Pauline  Epistles. 

Scribners.     $3.50.     Very  fine. 
GivOAG  :  Introduction  to  Catholic  Epistles. 

Scribners.     $3.00.     Nothing-  better. 
GODET :  Introduction  to  Epistles  of  Paul. 

Scribners.     $4.00. 
Weiss  :  New  Testament  Introduction.     2  vols. 

Funk  and  Wag-nails.     $3.00. 

II.    The  Life  of  Christ. 

Edersheim  :    Life   and   Times   of  Jesus    the    Messiah.     2 

vols. 

Long-mans.     $2.00. 
Andrews  :  Life  of  Our  Lord. 

Scribners.     $2.50. 
Farrar  :  Eife  of  Christ. 

Dutton.     $1.5o- 
Geikie  :  Life  and  Words  of  Christ. 

Appleton.     $1.50. 


8  List  of  Books  for  Students 

Staijlkr  :  Life  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Revell.     75  cents. 
Broadus  :  Jesus  of  Nazareth.     {Jc^hns  Hopkins  Lectures). 

Armstrong-.     75  cents. 

12.     Harmonies  of  the  Gospels. 

Robinson  :  Harmony  of  the  Gospels.     Two  editions,  Greek 
and  English.     Re-edited  by  M.  B.  Riddle. 
Houghton   &  Mifflin.     Greek  edition,  $2.00.     English, 
$1.50. 
BroaduS:    Harmony  of    the  Gospels.       Revised   Version. 
Notes  b)r  Robertson. 
Armstrong.     $1.50. 
Stevens  and  Burton  :  Harmony  of  Gospels.     Analytical. 
Silver,  Burdette  &  Co.     $1.50. 

13.    Parables. 

Trench  :  Notes  on  Parables  of  Our  Lord. 

Revell.     $1.25.     Superb. 
Bruce  :  Parabolic  Teaching  of  Christ. 

Armstrong.     $2.50.     Very  suggestive. 
Goebee  :  Parables  of  Jesus. 

Scribner.     $2.25. 
Dods  :  Parables  of  Our  Lord. 

Scribner  (in  Matthew),  $1.50  ;  (in  Luke),  $1.00. 
Caederwood  :  Parables  of  Our  Lord. 

Macmillan,     $2.00. 


14.  Miracles. 

Trench  :  Notes  on  Miracles  of  Our  Lord. 

Revell.     $1.25. 
Bkuce  :  Miraculous  Element  in  the  Gospels. 

Armstrong.     $2.50. 


of  the  Xi;w  Testament. 

Mozi,ey  :  Lectures  on  the  Miracles.     Bampton  (1S65). 

Longmans  &  Co.     $2.00. 
Lias  :  Are  Miracles  True  ? 

Hodder  &  Stoughton.     3s,  6d. 

15.    The  Life  of  Paul. 

Conybeare  &  Howson  :  Life  and  Epistles  of  Paul. 

Scranton.     $1.50.     Nothing-  better. 
Farrar  :  Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul. 

Duttou.     $1.50. 
LkXvin  J  Life  and  KpistleTs  of  St.  Paul.     2  vols. 

Macmillan.     $15.00. 
Stalker  :  Life  of  St.  Paul. 

Revell.     75  cents.     Popular. 
Iverach  :  Paul :  Life  and  Times. 

Revell.     75  cents. 
Goodwin  :  Harmony  of  Life  of  Paul . 

American  Tract  Societ}'.     $1.50.     Very  valuable. 

16.    Special  Topics. 

Bruce  :  Training-  of  Twelve. 

Armstrong.     $2.50. 
Bruce  :  Humiliation  of  Christ. 

Armstrong.     $2.50. 
Dods  :  The  Prayer  that  Teaches  to  Pray. 

Revell.     75  cents.     Very  good. 
Matheson  :  Spiritual  Development  of  Paul. 

Randolph.     $1.75. 
Liddon  :  Divinity  of  our  Lord. 

Longmans.     $1.50. 
Dickson  :  Flesh  and  Spirit. 
ROBERTS  :  Language  Spoken  by  Jesus. 


List  or  Books  roR  Students 

Milxtgan  :  Resurrection  of  Our  Lord. 

Macniillan.     $1.25. 
Toy  :  Quotations  in  the  New  Testament. 

Scribners.     $3.00. 
Johnson:  Quotations  of  the  New  Testament. 

Am.  Baptist  Pub.  Soc.     $§.50. 
Ramsey  :  Church  in  Roman  Empire. 

Putnam.     $3.00. 
Levvin  :  Fasti  Sacri.     (New  Testament  Chronology.) 

17.     Evidential  Treatises. 

Fisher  :  Supernatural  Origin  of  Christianity. 

Scribners.     $2.50. 
Norton  :  Evidences  of  the  Genuineness  of  the  Gospels. 

Boston. 
Row  :  Jesus  of  the  Evangelists. 
SchaEF  :  Church  History.     Vol.  I. 

Scribners.     $4.00. 
Dale  :  Living-  Christ  and  Four  Gospels. 

Hodder  &  Stoughton.     $1.00. 
Knowung  :  Witness  of  the  Epistles. 

Longmans  &  Co.     $3.75. 
"W atkins  :  Modern  Criticism  and  Fourth  Gospel. 
Godet  :  Lectures  in  Defense  of  the  Christian  Faith. 

Scribners.     $1.50. 
Leathes:  Witness  of  St.  Paul  to  Christ.     Boyle  Lecture* 

(1869). 
Gore:  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God.     Barnpton  Lectures 

(1891). 
AbboTT:  Authorship  of  Fourth  Gospel. 

Geo.  H.  Ellis  (Boston,  1888).     75  cents. 
Pat,ey  :  Horae  Paulinae.     Birks'  edition,  1850. 

London.     3s. 


of  the  New  Testament.  ii 


18.     Palestine. 


Stanley  :  Sinai  and  Palestine. 

Murray  (London).     12s. 
Thomson  :  Land  and  Book.     3  vols. 

Harpers.     $9.00. 
Baedeker  :  Palestine  and  Syria. 

Scribner.     $3.60,  net. 
Murray:  Syria  and  Palestine  (by  J.  L.  Porter).     2  vols. 

Murray  (London).     24s. 
Van  Lennep  :  Bible  Lands. 

Harpers.     $5.00. 
Merrill  :  Galilee  in  Time  of  Christ. 

Whittaker.     $1.00. 
HuRivBUT  :  Biblical  Geography. 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  $2.75. 

19.    New  Testament  Times. 

Schurer  :  The  Jewish  People  in  the  Time  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Scribners.    $8.00. 
STAPFKR  :  Palestine  in  Time  of  Christ. 

Armstrong-.     $2.50. 
Uhi„horn  :  The  Conflict  of  Christianity  with  Heathenism. 

Scribners.     $2.50. 
STORRS  :  The  Divine  Origin  of  Christianity. 

Randolph.     $3.00. 
Fisher  :  The  Beginnings  of  Christianity. 

Scribners.     $2.50. 

30.    Science  and  Art  of  Interpretation. 

Terry:  Hermeneutics. 

Hunt  &  Eaton.     $1.50.     Very  useful. 


12  List  of  Books  fob  Students 

Immer:  Herineneutics. 

Draper.     $1.75. 
Fakrar  :    History  of   Interpretation.      Bampton  Lectures- 

(1885). 
Button.    S30#0. 

ai.    Commentaries. 

Broadus  :  Commentary  on  Matthew. 

Amer.  Baptist  Pub.  Soe.     $2.25.     Among-  the  best. 
MORISON:  Commentary  on  Matthew. 

Bartlett  &  Co.,  Boston.     $3.00,     Very  fine. 
Abbot1*  :  Commentary  on  Matthew. 

Barnes.     $1.50. 
Cakk  :  Commentary  on  Matthew  (Cambridge  Bible). 

Macmillan.     60  cents. 
Morison  :  Commentary  on  Mark. 

Bartlett  &  Co.,  Boston.     $3.00. 
RiddijE:    Commentary  on    Mark    (International    Revision 
Com.). 

Scribners.     $1.00. 
Gould  :  Commentary  on  Mark  (Critical  Com.). 

Scribners.     $2.50. 
Godet  :  Commentary  on  Luke.     2  vols. 

Scribners.     $4.50. 
Riddle :    Commentary   on    Luke    (International    Revision 
Com.). 

Scribners.     $1.25. 
Fakkak  :  Commentary  on  Luke  (Cambridge  Bible). 

Macmillan.     $1.10. 
Pi.UMMKit  :  Commentary  on  Luke  (Critical  Com.). 

Scribners.     $3.00. 
Godkt  :  Commentary  on  John.     3  vols. 

Scribners.     $6.75. 


of  the  New  Testament.  13 

WESTCOTT  :  Commentary  on  John  (and  "Acts"  by  Jacob- 
son).     Bible  Com.  Series. 

Scribners.     $3  00. 
MieUOan  aso  Moueton  :  Commentary  .on  John  (Interna- 
tional Com.Ji. 

Scribners.     $1.25. 
PtUMMER  :  Commentary  on  John  (Cambridge  Bible). 

Macmillah.     $1.10. 
Biuqg  and  Pods  :  Expositor's  Greek  Testament.     Vol.  I. 
on  Four  Gospels. 

Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.     $7.00. 
Geo  AG  :  Commentary  on  Acts. 

T.  &  T.  Clark.     Nothing-  better. 
Hackett  :  Commentary  on  Acts. 

Amer.  Baptist  Pub.  Soc.     $2.00.     In  front  rank. 
Rice  :  Commentary  on  Acts. 

Am.  S.  S.  Union.     $1.25. 
Foster  :  Commentary  on  Romans. 

Cumb.  Pres.  Pub.  House.     $1.50. 
Sanday  :  Commentary  on  Romans  (Critical  Com.). 

Scribners.     $3.00. 
Godet  :  Commentary  on  Romans. 

Funk  &  Wag-nails.     $3.00. 
BEET  :  Commentary  on  Romans. 

Whittaker.     $2.00. 
Ljddon  :  Commentary  on  Romans.     Analytical. 

Long-mans.     $4.00. 
Mokison  :  Exposition  of  the  Third  Chapter  of  Romans. 

Hodder  &  Stoughton.     Very  fine. 
Godet  :  Commentary  on  1  Corinthians. 

Scribners.     $4.50. 
Eeeicott  :  Commentary  on  1  Corinthians. 

Long-mans.     $5.50. 


-*# 


14  List  or  Books  foe  Students 

Beet  :  Commentary  on  1  and  2  Corinthians. 

Whittaker.     $2.00. 
Stanley:  Commentary  on  1  and  2  Corinthians. 

Murray  (L<ondon).     18s. 
Waite  :  Commentary  on  2  Corinthians  (Bible  Com.). 

Scribners.     In  Vol.  III.     $3. 
Meyer  :  Commentary  on  Galatians  (and  Ephesians). 

Funk  and  Wag-nails.     $3.00. 
IviGHTFOOT  : -Commentary  on  Galatians. 

Macmillan.     $3.25. 
Beet  :  Commentary  on  Galatians. 

Whittaker.     $1.50, 
Stevens  :  Commentary  on  Galatians. 

Silver,  Burdett  &  Co.     $1.00. 
Macpherson  :  Commentary  on  Ephesians.     Calvinistie. 

Scribners.     $3.50. 
Riddi,e  :  Commentary   on   Ephesians    ^Popular    Commen- 
tary). 

Scribners.     In  Vol.  III.     $5.00. 
Moui.E  :  Commentary  on  Ephesians  (Cambridg-e  Bible). 

Macmillan.     60  cents. 
LlGHTFOOT  :  Commentary  on  Philippians. 

Macmillan.     $3.25. 
MOULE :  Commentary  on  Philippians  (Cambridge  Bible). 

Macmillan.     60  cents. 
IviGHTFOoT :  Commentary  on  Colossians  and  Philemon. 

Macmillan.     $3.25. 
Maclaren  :    Commentary   on   Colossians   and    Philemon. 
Expositor's  Bible  Series. 

Armstrong.     $1.50. 
Dods  :    Commentary    on    Thessalonian    Epistles   (Popular 
Commentary). 

Scribners.     In  Vol.  III.     $5.00. 


of  the  New  Testament.  15 

Find^ay  :    Commentary  on  Thessalonian  Epistles  (Cam- 
bridge Bible). 
Macmillan.     60  cents. 
Wace  :    Commentary  on   Pastoral  Epistles  (Timothy  and 
Titus). 

Bible  Commentary  Series.     In  Vol.  III.     $3.00. 
WESTCOTT  :  Commentary  on  Hebrews. 

Macmillan.     $3.00. 
Farrar  :  Commentary  on  Hebrews  (Cambridge  Bible). 

Macmillan  90  cents. 
Mayor  :  Commentary  on  James. 

Macmillan.     $3.50. 
Gi/)ag  :  Commentary  on  James  (Popular  Commentary). 

Scribners.     In  Vol.  IV.     $5.00. 
LrUMBY  :  Commentary  on  Jude  (Bible  Commentary). 

Scribners.     In  Vol.  IV.     $3.00. 
WESTCOTT  :  Commentary  on  Epistles  of  John. 

Macmillan.     $3.50. 
S almond  :     Commentary     on     Epistles    of    Peter     (Pop. 
Com.). 

Scribners.     In  Vol.  IV.     $3.00. 
Joiinstone  :  Commentary  on  1  Peter. 

Scribners.     $2.00. 
Miujgak  :  Commentary  on  Revelation  (Vol.  IV.  in  Popu- 
lar Commentary). 

Also  in  Expositor's  Bible.     Armstrong".     $1.50. 
EEE  :  Commentary  on  Revelation  (Bible  Commentary). 

Scribners.     In  Vol.  IV.     $3.00. 
Simcox  :  Commentary  on  Revelation  (Cambridge  Bible). 

Macmillan.     80  cents. 


1 6  iii st  of  Books  fob  Students. 

23    New  Testament  Theology. 

Van  OoSTERZEE :  Theology  of  the  New  Testament. 

Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.     $1.50. 
Stevens  :  Pauline  Theolog-y. 

Scribners.     $2.00. 
Stevens  :  Johannine  Theolog-y. 

Scribners.     $2.00. 
Adeney  :  Theolog-y  of  the  New  Testament. 

Whittaker.     75  cents. 
Wendt  :  Teaching-  of  Jesus.     2  vols. 

Scribners.     $5.00.     To  be  used  with  caution. 
Beyschi,a.g  :  Theology  of  the  New  Testament.     2  vols. 

Scribners.     $6.00. 
Horton  :  Teaching  of  Jesus. 

Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.     $1.50. 
Bernard:  Progress  of  Doctrine  in  the  New  Testament. 

Macmillan.     $1.50. 
Bruce  :  Kingdom  of  God. 

Scribners.     $2.00. 


mm 


BS530.B71 

The  Bible  in  our  day. 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00037  6840 


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